Above all, we need a state in order to have democracy, which is the
system by which the many non-rich join together to overcome the power
of the rich and thus deny them control over society.

It's true that the US government does many of these things badly, and
some not at all. The only things it does well nowadays are corporate
welfare and massive general surveillance. This is because, in
practical terms, it is no longer a democracy: it has fallen under the
power of the plutocrats, so it no longer serves to keep them in check.
The plutocrats also control the mainstream media, and use them to
spread lies and distract people from real
issues.

The plutocrats don't want us to reclaim control of our government and
make it do its many jobs. Therefore, the most basic lie they spread
is the claim that government is never the solution for any problem.
(They even have Americans believing that the government was to blame
for the fiscal crisis and recession, rather than the banksters.)
If we believe that, we won't see any solution for our main problem:
curbing the plutocrats!

Noam Chomsky explains how the "tea party" idea that "We want the
government off our backs" is used to distract working-class Americans
from organizing for Liberal (social-democratic) policies that they
favor when asked.

Copyright (c) 2013 Richard Stallman
Verbatim copying and redistribution of this entire page are
permitted provided this notice is preserved.